The Chifley Electorate

The Chifley Electorate falls under the Federal government regulation and covers more than 20 suburbs throughout the Western suburbs of Sydney. The electorate is named after the twentieth Prime Minister of Australia, Ben Chifley. Roger Price has been the Federal Member for Chifley for close to 19 years.

Suburbs of the Chifley Electorate

 

Bidwill
The suburb of Bidwill was designed in the 1970’s and was modelled on a city in New Jersey. It's named after noted botanist John Carne Bidwill, (1815 – 53), who worked on the Sydney botanic Gardens.

Blackett
Blackett was named after a George Forster Blackett, who is thought to have lived in the area at some time. He was Superintendent of the government cattle station at Rooty Hill During Governor Macquarie’s era.

The streets of Blackett are named after Australian literary personalities, including Miles Franklin, Ion Idriess, D'Arcy Niland, Christopher Brennan, Kenneth Slessor and Rolf Bolderwood.

Blacktown
Named in recognition of Governor Lachlan Macquarie's land grants to aborigines. The area incorporating these settlements was referred to as Black’s Town.

In 1819, Colebee and Nurragingy, two Aborigines who helped soldiers travel overland in the early years of the colony, were the first to be rewarded with a parcel of 30 acres for their undertakings.

Blacktown's first train station was built in 1860, just 5 years after Parramatta. Rooty Hill station was built in 1861, St Marys in 1862, and Mt Druitt in 1881.

Colyton
Colyton originally covered a much larger area extending into the Mt Druitt district. 

Colyton was named by local landowner William Cox, after a town in Devon, England. Cox held over 300 acres of land in the area, which he later went on to subdivide into smaller farms.

Dharruk
Dharruk received its name from the Darug people who gathered in the area with the white settlers.

There are many Darug descendants in Sydney, over 300 of whom gathered for a reunion in 1990.

Doonside
Doonside was originally called Crawford (after local landowner Robert Crawford). It was changed to Doonside in 1886 in honour of Crawford’s home town back in Scotland.

Eastern Creek
Origin unknown. Earliest settlement would suggest the name came about because the tide lowed towards the east.

Emerton
Named after William Emert who owned land on both the north and south sides of the Mt Druitt Estate. Emert bought 3 parcels of land on the north side of Mt Druitt in 1872, and oversaw the running of these lands with the help of his son Philip. In 1881, he paid 150 pounds ($300) for the land now bounded by the Great Western Highway, Nelson street, Ropes Creek road and Mt Druitt road.

In 1884, the Emert's built a house on the corner of Mt Druitt Rd and Rope’s Creek Rd and named it Siglingen House, after William's home town in Germany. The house still stands within the grounds of Bethel Christian Academy in Mt Druitt Road.

Emert's wife Rosina, also made a valuable contribution to the early development of the local area. A mother of five children, she ran a very successful general store in the are which also incorporated a post office, and later, a bakery.

Originally called Emert Town, the name was later simplified to Emerton. 

The streets in Emerton are named after famous German Poets and musicians.

Glendenning
Named after a Blacktown Butcher, W Glendenning. He owned a butcher's shop and slaughterhouse in what is now Glendenning Rd.

Hassall Grove
Named after Thomas Hassall, the first Church of England minister in the area. He was also a grazier and a magistrate.

Hebersham
Named after Bishop Reginald Heber of Calcutta. The area was part of a grant of grazing lands leased to the Church of England. Initially, unable to attract tenants to the land, the church invited four settlers to occupy the Church land free for seven years. 

The Governor of New South Wales, Sir Roden Cutler, officially opened Hebersham Public School in November 1973. Again on the 14th May 2001, Hebersham had the privilege of having the Governor of New South Wales visit their school, this time to present the student with a centenary medallion to celebrate the Centenary of Federation.

Lethbridge Park
Named after the Lethbridge family, the first of whom (Robert) arrived in Sydney on January 24, 1827. Some local streets are named after Pacific Islands including Bougainville, Luzon, Pitcairn, Samoa and Tahiti.

Minchinbury
Minchinbury was named after William Minchin, a free settler granted 1000 acres of land in the area in 1819. Upon his death, the Minchinbury Estate, as it came to be known, was passed on to his wife, but when she died shortly after, the land was transferred to their daughter, Maria Matilda. Tragically, Maria, her husband and their children where all lost at sea just one year later. William's brother came from Canada to take over the estate, but upon his arrival decided to sell the land instead.

Dr Charles Mackay bought the farm and converted it into an award winning vineyard. The property was later sold to a James Angus who retained the vineyards and produced champagne and many fine wines. In 1912 the Minchinbury estate was sold to Penfolds Wines who operated a winery from the site until 1978. Much of the land was then sold to the NSW Department of Housing for development. 

Minchinbury is also famous for it's aeroplane, a model Sabre Jet fighter, positioned at the entrance to the Estate. It was first erected in 1955 and had been used by Penfolds with a slogan that read "Don’t crash, drink Penfolds".

Mt Druitt
Named after General George Druitt in 1861. Originally called the Parish of Rupertswood.

Oakhurst
Oakhurst was named after local residents of the area, the Oaks. The area was acquired by Landcom in the late 1980's and was sub-divided, with some given to the Department of Housing and the rest sold to developers in a bid to create a large, diverse neighbourhood. 

Plumpton
Named after Walter Lamb's greyhound course. Located on his property at Woodstock, it was modelled on the Plumpton system.

Rooty Hill
Origin uncertain. There has been some suggestion that it was due to the large amount of tree roots in the ground when first settled. 

Did you know? The Rooty Hill School of Arts, in Rooty Hill Road South was built in 1902 and originally housed the local Council Chambers and Hall. It was later converted into a library.

Tregear
The suburb was originally based on the area of John Whalan's homestead (built in 1821). The Lethbridge family later purchased the house and named the grounds after the family home in Cornwall, England. Members of the Lethbridge family occupied the house up until 1942. It was taken over by the RAAF who eventually sold it in 1951.

St Marys
Originally called South Creek, St Marys received its name after the St Mary Magdalene's Church on the Great Western Highway

Shalvey
Named after the Shalvey family who settled in the area after migrating from Northern Ireland. They established a butchers shop in the area in the 1860s.

Whalan

Named after James Whalan who, in 1821, received a grant of 300 Acres from Governor Macquarie. James was the son of Sgt Charles Whalan, who arrived as a convict. It is thought that the Whalan’s rank among the earliest pioneering families in the Colony.

Did you know that Whalan Reserve was formerly a 2 and 1/4 mile racing circuit used by the great Jack Brabham? The site was originally used by the RAAF as an airstrip but was abandoned after the war in favour of the Richmond base. In 1948, it was converted into a speed circuit. Over the next 5 years there were many meetings held at the track, some of which attracted crowds of over 15,000 people.

Willmott
Named after Thomas Willmot, the first shire president of Blacktown ( in office from 1906 to 1910).

Woodcroft
Owned by PGH, the land was originally used to manufacture bricks and sewage pipes. The site was later sold to Boral, who, in the late 1980s, developed the land for residential usage and sold it to developers.